Unexpected Love
by LaTuaContante
Summary: In their sixth year of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Draco Malfoy and Ginny Weasley find an interest in eachother and start to become closer than they ever thought they would be. Secrets reveal themselves and betrayal is fresh in the air.
1. Unexpected

**CHAPTER 1 - UNEXPECTED**

She groaned out loud when as she flopped back on her bed, closing her eyes to try and attempt to get some peace and quiet, but that seemed impossible around these parts at the moment. Being a fifth year didn't _look _that hard, but it certainly was. All the exam preparations for O.W.L's was more pressurising than she had imagined.

She suddenly heard footsteps from outside the room, Ginny sat up quickly and waited for the person to enter. Instead of what she expected, there was a light knock at the door. She frowned in confusion, stood up and went to go open the door.

She was greeted by the happy face of Neville Longbottom. "Hey Ginny," He said, smiling now but the smile didn't touch his eyes, she couldn't help but smile back. Ginny always seemed a tad happier when he was around.

"Hey Neville! What are you doing up here?" She asked him, her grin widening as she remembered this was the girl half of the common room. "Ooo, Did you sneak up here?" Ginny said, smirking now.

He rolled his eyes sarcastically. "Ha, Ha. I just wanted to ask you if you've seen Harry, I need to talk to him about some potions stuff," Neville asked, his cheeks suddenly flushing a bright red, probably due to his not hidden fear of Professor Snape. Ginny giggled quietly, then she nodded as seriously as she could manage, still not being fully able to hide the smirk which remained on her face.

"Yeah, I think he went somewhere with Ron and Hermione," She told him and was surprised when he rolled his eyes in response. Ginny frowned in confusion, something must have really been bothering him, she didn't want to ask unless it was something he didn't want her to know.

Neville sighed in what seemed like impatience. "I know _that_!" He told her hotly. His eyes widened slightly as he realised what he just said. Ginny's frown deepened, what was with him? "Sorry, Uhm, See you later." He said quickly in an apologetic tone before turning around and walking out of her room.

Ginny pondered on his behavoir for a minute, but decided to shrug it off, she wouldn't nose around in Neville's private life, he obviously didn't want to talk about it.

"Where are you going?" Lavender asked Ginny as she was about to walk out of the portrait hole.

"For a walk." She replied in a mumble, without turning around to face her. She didn't know why but she had a lot of mixed emotions on her mind right now, they were more headed towards negative than positive. Without realising it till now, Ginny was running through the hallways, earning for the freedom of the outside air. Soon enough she found herself sprinting, pushing herself to go as fast as she possibly could. She just wanted to get away from all the hassal, just for a while.

She sighed in relief as the cool air hit her face, she strolled a little more casually now to the lake, Ginny sat down on one of the banks, smiling a little to herself.

Ginny lay back on the slightly damp grass and looked at the sky, at the bright stars. She let her eyes drift slowly to a close, purely relaxing, enjoying the moment.

She had no idea how long she had simply been laying there before she heard some distant rustle in the grass, someone walking her way. She groaned a little in annoyance and opened her eyes to see who had disturbed her peaceful facade.

_What the hell is he doing here?_ Ginny thought, froazen in place as she saw Draco Malfoy strolling confidently her way. She had to use alot of strength to force her jaw shut. She decided to word her thoughts.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She asked in a dead tone, she really did not have the energy tonight to argue full on. He held his hands up in fake surrender.

"Free will. I come here alot, Its not _my_ fault your here now, Is it?" Draco said to her, smirking at her confused expression. She stared at him for a while then her teeth clenched together. Ginny's eyes narrowed, he was not exactly the person she wanted to see right now.

"Go away." Her voice was quite but deadly, she hated this boy, he was nothing but cruel. He didn't deserve what he got. Didn't deserve it at all.

He rolled his eyes and sat down next to her anyway. _The cheek of him! The pure cheek! Who does he think he is? _The voice in her head raged.

"Seriously, What are you doing?" She asked, her voice letting through some annoyance now, she couldn't be bothered to hold it in any longer. She was confused, Very confused indeed. Malfoy....Coming to this particular place just randomly? He must be plotting something.

Draco shrugged innocently. "Sitting down, Thinking." He murmured quietly, she could only just hear. Ginny frowned, _Thinking? About what? Wasn't he the one who had the perfect, rich style life?_

"Thinking about what?" She burst out after a couple of minutes silence, Curiosity did always get the best of her. She mentally hit herself.

He looked to her suddenly, his forehead creased. "And why would _you_ care?" He asked her, raising his eyebrows now.

Now _she_ shrugged. "I dunno. Curiosity getting the best of me I guess..." Ginny frowned a little at herself, she had just answered his question in complete truth....What was wrong with her? Being truthful to a Malfoy...Even _sincere!_ What was happening?

He sighed, laying back now, she followed shortly after him, they both stared at the stars. "Just family issues." He murmured, his velvet voice quite but still smooth. Ginny turned her head as much as she could to glance at him and was a little shock when she recognised real sadness etched into his handsome features. Her frown deepened but this time she wasn't concerned for herself.

"What's happened?" She asked gently, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Ginny added quickly, still looking at him.

Draco shrugged once more and closed his eyes. "My mother is suffering of course due to the fact that she has not seen or heard from my father in over three months....He didn't even visit for her birthday." She had just noticed that his hands were starting to ball up into fists and his jaw was tight. He must be very angry with his Dad right now.

"Oh...Does anyone know where he is?" Ginny asked quietly, laying back down to stop staring at him, the moonlight shining on his perfect pale skin.

Draco scoffed loudly. "No doubt wherever the Dark Lord is. Sooner or later someone will fall and he will come to his senses. Though....Theres no use in getting my hopes up, I don't see him changing his mind quickly." He explained, it seemed Draco did not feel the same way about Voldemort as his father, the way he spoke whilst talking about it made it sound like he disliked the what his father was doing.

She frowned. "Oh." Was all Ginny could say, What was she supposed to say? One of those terrible awkward silence followed their previous conversation and she had to break it before the tense feelings starting to feel too strong.

"My life is pretty bad too." Ginny admitted, _What are you doing? Are you opening up to Draco Malfoy?_ The voice in her head practically screamed at her. She ignored it, not knowing fully herself why she was doing this.

He looked towards her, frowning just a little. "Why?" Ginny was still kind of shocked at his gentle voice, he had always seemed such a aggresive person so she presumed his voice would portray some of his emotions, It didn't.

She continued to look up at the sky whilst she told him. "My brother Percy is still being an idiot. My mother hasn't seen him in nearly a year, My father sees him at work but its not like they talk or anything. It's really upsetting my mother, I dont know what to do...She..." Ginny hesitated, biting her lip. Should she go on? "I...I hear her crying sometimes..Ofcourse she would never admit to it but we can all see how much she misses him. She acts strong but its breaking her. I feel useless, Like there's nothing I can do to help her..." The rest came out in a whisper, they both lay their silently, no one wanting to break the silence.

"Are you okay?" He asked after a long time, he turned his head to see her reaction.

Ginny nodded a little. "Yeah, Im okay. Hopefully soon he will see sense and come back to try and fix all the mess he's made." She murmured, not wanting to continue complaining to him.

He saw straight through me. "You can tell me you know." _Where was all this coming from?_ It was weird, Ginny didn't even care about answering, Its like she trusted him. She must have. She was opening up and she didn't know why. The wierdest thing was thinking that he actually cared, _Draco Malfoy_, caring about her, Ginny Weasley. What was the world coming to? Seriously, this was starting to freak her out. Them two, completely opposite were just sitting here chatting, they talked like good friends.

Shock flitted through her when she felt herself smile. "Thanks Draco." She muttered, still utterly shocked with herself.

This wasn't the usual etiquette for a Gryffindor and a Slytherin, And _certainly_ not the etiquette for a Weasley and a Malfoy. They sat in a long silence, and it wasn't awkward. It was a comfortable silence. Ginny was quite thankful that he wasn't like others, others who constantly felt the need to fill the silence with never ending chit chat. She hated it when people would never leave her long enough to even sort her thoughts out, It was stupid to think that there could never be a moment silence, Of course there could. The wind was getting stronger, a involuntary shiver escaped her, she rubbed her arms to cause friction. That caught Draco's attention, he bit his lip and an apologetic look creeped onto his face, she resisted the urge to raise her eyebrows.

"Are you cold? Im sorry. Um. I dont have a jacket.." Apology was still written across his features as he frowned a little more awkwardly. He seemed to come up with an idea then shook his head a little, dismissing the thought. He peeked at her face through his unbelievably long eyelashes, she had too look down though she still felt his gaze on her freckly face. Surely her cheeks would be bright red by now.

"Don't worry about it." She stuttered, only now realising that she was shaking. Ginny rolled her eyes at herself, _How embarrassing!_ She thought, blushing further.

He laughed a little then scooted up even more awkwardly. "I know this is going to sound utterly stupid, But do you want to hug? It might make you warmer." Draco cringed at how much of a prat he sounded like, A person like him probably wasn't used to embarrassment. She smiled warmly at his offer and wiggled slowly into his waiting arms.

It wasn't like she had expected, she had expected coldness, it just seemed to suit his characteristics. But it was completely different to what she imagined, she was warm in his arms, his skin felt like it was practically radiating heat. Ginny hesitated for a second then gave up, she relaxed completely onto him, leaning her head on his shoulder. Ginny was sure from far away this embrace would definatly make them look like a couple, though right now she didn't care, she was warm, comfortable. She let her eyes drift to a close, Unconsciousness taking over.


	2. Realization

**CHAPTER TWO – REALIZATION**

"Um, Ginny?" Draco said quietly into her ear, poking her so she would wake up.

"Oh crap." She muttered once her eyes had opened, she had _fallen asleep! _On _Draco Malfoy! _How idiotic can you get? Typical. She pulled herself up and frowned in apology at him.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to fall asleep! I'm sorry!" Ginny blurted out, looking at him for his reaction.

He shook his head, laughing a little, a smirk on his face. "No worries, It's kinda late. I thought you might want to get back inside, Unless you wanted to stay out here for the night...?" Draco said, raising his eyebrows at the red-headed witch.

She laughed and shook her head also. "Yeah, That's probably not a good idea." Ginny murmured trying to get up, though in her attempt she just fell straight back down again. Draco's smirk grew bigger as he held out a hand for her to take.

She smiled warmly and took it without hesitation, _too late to take things back now,_ Ginny thought, standing up and swaying a little bit. She felt dizzy, he looked down at her, his forehead creasing in concern and worry.

"Are you okay? Do you want me to carry you?" He asked, his voice smooth. Draco grinned and held out his arms slightly, Ginny took an immediate step back.

Ginny looked to his arms with slightly widened eyes. _He isn't _that _strong, He wouldn't be able to carry me. _She doubted highly he would be able to support her weight.

He rolled his eyes impatiently and swept her legs from under her in one swift movement and held her close to his chest. She gasped loudly and looked up to him, he was, of course, smirking. Who wouldn't?

"What exactly do you think you are doing?" Ginny asked after some time, still gaping at the blonde angel.

He shrugged, walking towards the castle. "I _was_ waiting for an answer from you but then I decided that might take a while. I am rather impatient." Draco admitted lightly, still strolling casually as if she weighed as much as a feather pillow.

The night was silent for a while before she simply could not help herself. "Aren't I hurting you or something? I'm _so_ heavy!" Ginny asked loudly, blushing a little at her lack of control.

Draco scoffed. "Yeah right. You weigh hardly anything." He said, rolling his eyes again. _Gosh, He does that a lot._ She said in her head.

Her cheeks flushed further and she looked down, Could he embarrass her even more?

They walked inside in silence, when they arrived at the main entrance Ginny elbowed him in the ribs.

"Ouch!" Draco suddenly said, putting her down quickly and messaging his ribs, she grinned triumphantly.

"What did you do that for?" He asked a little louder than was intended.

"I wanted to get down." Ginny smiled, feigning innocence, He glared at her for a short amount of time before they both continued walking into the school.

Not long after, Draco was lingering outside the portrait hole to the Gryffindor common room. Ginny and Draco stood there for quite some time, It was rather awkward actually.

"Um, So.." He looked to his feet. "Seeyah I guess..." Draco bit his lip, deliberating. Ginny smiled, once again awkward. She nodded and turned to walk into the common room, Draco took her wrist, his touch sent shivers down her spine.

"So, You wanna meet tomorrow night? I understand if you don't want to, Just to talk, You know." He asked in a rush, the words came out fast and he sounded strange, nervous even.

Her mouth fell open. _What? Did he just say what I think he said?_ "Sure." She said before she could stop herself, Ginny rolled her eyes at herself, Draco noticed the gesture and frowned for just a second then his features smoothed.

"Okay. Um, See you tomorrow then." Draco stated though Ginny could see he was still nervous. He suddenly grinned at her and turned swiftly to walk to the Slytherin common room.

"Bye." Ginny whispered far too late. She stood in the hallways for a couple of minutes before shaking her head and creeping through the portrait hole, Hopefully no teachers would catch her.

She tip-toed to her dormitory and slid into her bed, too tired to change the skirt and t-shirt she was wearing. Ginny pulled out the scrunchy holding her long, red hair in a pony tail, It fell free at her sides. Her eyes closed and she sighed deeply. _What the hell was that Ginevra Weasley?_ The voice in her head nearly screamed at her. She shrugged, for some weird reason she couldn't get Draco out of her head. What was wrong with her? She lay there for a long time, trying to figure out herself, her own emotions. Nothing was making sense, everything was jumbled up. Ginny thought as hard as she could to try and come up with an explanation to her weird behavoir but came up flat, no theory seemed at all correct.

"Ginny?" She jumped when she heard the familiar voice from the doorway, Ginny held her hand to her heart.

"Nearly gave me a heart attack Lavender!" She scolded her friend, sitting up and flicking the lamp on beside her. Lavender had an unrecognisable expression on her face, she couldn't understand it. Ginny and Lavender had become very good friends in the past three months, they were strangely close now. Ginny knew lavender inside out but had never seen this expression on her face before.

"Um, Gin.." Ginny noticed that Lavender was looking at her feet. "Can we talk for a moment?" She asked nervously, still avoiding her gaze. Ginny frowned immediately, Lavender never acted this way.

She nodded and stood up, her and Lavender would talk downstairs, she didn't want to wake up the others in her dorm. Ginny walked over to Lavender and they both strolled in silence downstairs.

"What's up?" She asked her nervous friend, curious and worried. Ginny placed herself next to Lavender on the sofa in front of the fire.

Lavender bit her lip. "Can I ask you something? You have to promise to answer honestly.." She said quietly, finally looking Ginny in the eye.

"Of course, Why would I lie?"

She took a deep breath. "Were you by the lake with _Draco Malfoy?_" Lavender sounded slightly shocked at her own accusation, Ginny's breathing stopped.

"Well?" Lavender pushed.

She suddenly placed her head in her hands. "How do you know that?" Ginny asked her quietly, Lavender smiled slightly when she knew her accusations were correct, she had just confessed.

"I was doing some astronomy homework and spotted you two by the lake..." She said, placing her hand on Ginny's shoulder in a comforting way.

She let out a miserable groan. "I forgot there was a clear view of the lake at the astronomy tower. I...I...We..." _We? _Ginny shuddered at the word. "I didn't plan it. He just showed up! Honest! We got to talking-" Lavender cut her off.

"Got to talking? Draco Malfoy? Talking to _you?_ No offence of course." She said quickly, apologizing in case Ginny took offence at her last sentence. Lavender sounded outraged.

"Yeah. I know exactly what you mean. I was more shocked than you!" Ginny exclaimed, sighing once more.

Lavender didn't seem satisfied by her feeble explanation. "And? What happened?"

"Nothing! Honestly, We just...Talked." Ginny said in complete honestly, that was all they did, talk. It wasn't like they had kissed or something like that, She was quite insulted that Lavender would make such assumptions about her, she should know better than that, Ginny wasn't like that at all.

"Oh." Was all she said, Lavender seemed deeply dissapointed, Ginny knew how much she loved a good piece of gossip. Lavender was one of her very good friends but she knew that she would make sure everyone in Hogwarts knew if Ginny and Draco _had _kissed.

"Well, I'm sorry I've disappointed you." Ginny said sarcastically, _Typical Lavender._

Lavender sighed. "Its okay." She said as if she hadn't noticed Ginny's sarcasm.

Ginny glared at her for a while before standing up. "I'm tired, Night." She muttered, turning and walking back up to the Dormitory, not even caring about being rude to Lavender at the moment.

When Ginny was back into her Dorm she decided to get changed into her pyjamas, Just to pass the time. She got into the strap top and shorts then crawled into bed, she was more tired than she had thought.

A massive yawn escaped her mouth as she rolled on her side. Her mind was going crazy.

How could Lavender think that? Is that all she expected of Ginny? To just go and kiss Malfoy? God. Some people these days. It was an insult, Ginny made a face at the thought of people even _thinking _she had kissed Draco Malfoy, the whole school would go crazy, not to mention that Pansy Parkinson, she practically licked the ground Draco walked on, Ginny could imagine her reaction just a _bit_ too well. She let out yet another sigh and rolled onto her back, she couldn't think straight, couldn't fit the pieces together. What was going on? Lavender thought that _she_ had kissed _Draco Malfoy! _Ginny couldn't help but picture it if they hadkissed. _What are you doing? Stop thinking about that!_ The voice in her head shouted, She shook her head as if to dismiss the thought. But Ginny couldn'y deny, she liked what she had seen. Suddenly she wished they _had_ kissed.

Then, At that particular moment, Realization hit, Hard and true.

She liked Draco Malfoy, Liked him more than she should, More than a friend.

"Oh god.." She muttered desperately before pulling her sheet over her face, wishing she could turn back time.


	3. Accidents Happen

**CHAPTER 3 – ACCIDENTS HAPPEN.**

Draco woke with a start, drenched in sweat. He had not endured the most pleasant dreams last night, In fact, they were rather frightening, Though, of course, he would never admit that to anyone.

"You okay Draco?" Vincent asked while pulling his shirt over his head, he looked concerned for his friend.

He didn't quite know the answer himself. "I'm fine." Draco said shortly, turning around and banging his head on the bed post.

"Crap!" He seethed in a whisper, most of the others in his dorm were asleep. Draco let out a annoyed sigh and got out of bed, running a hand through his morning hair. On the way to the bathroom, Draco caught a glimpse of himself in a mirror, he looked rough, paler than usual.

He moaned as he walked into the shower room, he was so tired. Draco had at least two hours of sleep last night, too much was on his mind, well, one thing in particular.

He quickly shook his head, he would not start that trail of thought again, Not yet.

Draco quickly stripped down and got into the showers, he was hoping this would calm him down slightly. It didn't do any good, the hot water was no help to him. All of his muscles still remained tensed, he just couldn't seem to relax. Draco gave up with that idea quickly and stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel and wrapping it securely around his waist. Once again, he ran a hand through his now wet hair. He took another towel and scrubbed it on his hair in attempt to make it a little drier.

After he was totally dry he dressed himself and prepared his books for the lessons today, not like he really cared about all that stuff right now.

"You were talking in your sleep last night." Goyle said casually as they were making their way to Potions.

Draco stopped short. "What?" He asked quite loudly, turning to stare incredulously at him.

Gregory just shrugged. "Just mumbling things, You kept saying "This cant be happening. Not her. Anyone but her."" He recited, starting to walk again.

He froze, he had said that out loud? He hadn't intended that anyone would know and certainly not _hear_ about his nightmare last night.

"Oh." Was all he could choke out before they had to start running to Potions, they were going to be incredibly late.

"Nice of you to join us Mr Malfoy and Mr Goyle. You will stay five minutes at the end of the class." Professor Slughorn pronounced once they came through the door, they both groaned and sat down at their seats.

Potions dragged, Draco had got told off many times for being distracted and not answering when he was spoken too, His mind was elsewhere at the moment.

Every lesson was the same, Draco not paying attention then getting told off, Over and over again. It actually started to get rather boring.

At Lunch time he could not help but let his eyes drift over to the red haired beauty, all his friends nudged and pinched him. What must they have thought? He was, after all, staring at a _Weasley_, A _Gryffindor!_

He quickly set his eyes on his food, determined not to look up again, This was getting out of hand.

"Hey Draco, What's up with you?" Blaise asked from further up the table, frowning at the younger Slytherin.

Draco bit his lip, quickly trying to think of a reasonable excuse for his behaviour. "I feel sick, that's all." He covered up, faking a cough, if he was going to lie, he might as well make it convincing.

Blaise nodded, seeming to understand now. "Why don't you go to the hospital wing?" He asked, his voice almost sounded superior though Draco didn't blame him, if _he _were in Blaise's position, he would probably act the same way.

He shrugged a little, he wouldn't take this feeble lie to _that _extent.

The rest of the afternoon was a faint blur, he could hardly remember what happened five minutes ago. None of it had any significance to him now. His one significance was out of bounds; Her.

Draco finally admitted to himself, he liked her, there was no doubt about it. He let out a defeated sigh before the bell rang to indicate the end of lessons for today. He stood up, stuffing his Defence Against the Dark arts book in his bag and swiftly left the room without talking to anyone; he had nothing he felt the need to say.

Then someone shoved past him and his eyes got a glimpse of dark red hair, his stomach twisted with hope as he turned to see if it was her.

Disappointment crashed down on him as he noticed it was her brother, Ronald. "Oh, It's you," He said, bitterness traced clearly in his tone. Draco was slightly surprised by his reaction, his face contorted with anger; he must have had a bad day or something.

"Shut up, Malfoy! You think your so much better than everyone else just because your pure blood!" He said, his voice a little louder than conversational tone.

Draco glared an ice cold glare at him before replying. "At least I'm not a blood traitor," He said in a silk smooth voice, a smirk placed on his perfect features now.

His expression went blank as he saw who had just arrived next to Weasley, judging by her facial expression, she had heard the end of the conversation.

Ginny's eyes teared up as she walked fiercely in the way of her common room, shoving into his shoulder on purpose. He cursed under his breath and turned to follow her. Potter had pulled Ron away by now, being the heroic idiot he was.

"Ginny, I-" He called after her, she did what he did not expect. She turned around and smiled sarcastically.

"You what? I guess your just a completely different person around different people." She muttered darkly, a tear rolling down her cheek.

Draco shook his head, frowning in what seemed to be desperation. Desperation for her to understand that he didn't mean it. "I didn't mean it!" He voiced his thoughts. "It was an accident, Accidents-" He was cut off.

"Accidents happen, Right?" Ginny said hotly, raising her eyebrows at him. "Don't bother going to the lake tonight," She murmured quietly before turning around and storming off.

Draco closed his eyes in frustration before swiftly turning round to trudge his way back to his common room, _Well done Draco, perfect. Have fun sorting this one out, _He thought, muttering the password miserably before dragging his feet to his dormitory and falling onto his bed.

_Great days work, _His thoughts were sarcastic, accusing; great.


	4. Guilt

**CHAPTER 4 – GUILT**

Ginny stormed down the hallway, tears streaking down her cheeks. _How could he be such an idiot when he was so nice last night? _Her mind scolded her actions, why would she even think he was a nice person after those six years of name calling, just generally being mean. He didn't even say sorry! Well, he said he didn't mean it, but how could she trust anything he said anymore?

"Someone's in a bad mood," The fat lady mumbled after Ginny had walked through the portrait hole. The first person she laid her eyes on was Harry Potter. She almost rolled her eyes, typical. A frown graced her features as that thought ran through her mind, she didn't usually think like that about her friends, _Malfoy, _she would refuse to call him Draco, must have really got her in a bad mood.

Harry smiled in welcome at her before he frowned also at her expression. "Are you okay, Ginny?" He asked, concern layered his voice. She avoided eye contact, what would he think if she still had tears in her eyes? Ginny nodded in answer to his question.

"I'm fine," But her voice broke on the last word and she saw Harry's frown increase as he put one hand on her shoulder. "Harry, I said I'm fine!" She was shocked by the tone of her own voice. Yet another tear fell down her cheek and landed by coincidence on his hand, great, now he would _know _she wasn't fine. Ginny pushed his hand of her shoulder with a little more force than intended and quickly walked up to her dorm.

As she walked up the stairs she heard her brother say to Harry. "What did you say to her?"

"Nothing! I was just seeing if she was okay!" Murmured Harry innocently. Ginny bit down on her lip, she felt bad for Ron's assumptions and Harry taking the blame. None of this had anything to do with Harry.

Harry and Ron had probably told Hermione by now, and surely enough, as that thought entered her mind, there was a light knock on her dormitory door. Followed by a quiet voice. "Can I come in, Ginny?" She asked through the door.

"Sure," She said as loud as she could before burying her face in her pillow whilst Hermione pushed the door shut. Ginny heard her footsteps until they were close and Hermione sat next to her on her bed.

"What's happened?" Hermione asked straight, she wasn't one for small talk. Her voice sounded almost as concerned as Harry's had. Ginny remained silent and after a couple of minutes Hermione let out a sigh.

She placed her hand on Ginny's shoulder like Harry did. "Ginny, I want to help you but I can't if your not going to tell me what's happened." She bit her lip before slowly sitting up and wiping her eyes with her sleeve. Hermione's eyes were wide with worry as she crossed her legs and let out a breath.

"Harry's really worried, he thinks he was the one who upset you." Hermione told Ginny, raising one of her eyebrows in question. "Was he the one who upset you?" She asked me, Ginny could see the curiosity burning in her eyes.

She shook her head, how could Harry think that? Guilt hit her then, she was surprised at how bad she felt about what Harry guessed. "It wasn't Harry at all. I shouldn't have lashed out on him like that." She trailed off, biting her lip once again.

Hermione frowned and cocked her head to the side, trying to understand. "So who _has _upset you?"

Ginny felt her cheeks get hot, why was she blushing? She couldn't tell Hermione who had really upset her. She quickly thought of a different reason. "To be honest, this will sound stupid but, it wasn't anyone in particular, just everything right now." Ginny told the lie in a rush, Hermione nodded in a very teacher like way. She looked at Ginny through eyes suddenly full of wisdom. Ginny knew that Hermione would probably start on a huge speech about feminism and her understanding of the woman mind and stuff like that.

"Well, Ginny-" But she cut her off, she just wasn't in the mood for a speech by Hermione.

Ginny got off of her bed and thought of another excuse not to endure what she knew was coming. "I'm really sorry, Hermione. But I just remembered that I have to be somewhere." She told her, wondering where exactly she would go after this. Hermione's superior smile faltered slightly as she stood up.

"Okay, just remember Ginny. I'm always here to talk," She said in a comforting tone before smiling and swiftly walking out of her dorm room.

Ginny let out a huge sigh before grabbing a jacket and following Hermione out of her room. She knew exactly where she would go, somewhere peaceful where she could just relax and forget all her worries for just a couple of hours.

Someone caught her arm before she could walk through the portrait hole. Ginny turned around and before she even saw his face, she knew who it would be.

"Sorry if I upset you earlier," Harry muttered quietly, looking her straight in the eye. What was it with him? He had this weird thing about him which made you always feel guilty even if you said the slightest negative thing to him. It made her wonder how Malfoy had managed insulting him so much for the past six years. She shook her head a little to dismiss the thought of him and also in answer to Harry's question.

Ginny smiled apologetically at him before answering. "No, Harry. You didn't upset me, I just lashed out. Sorry." Her voice was a little louder than before, she was feeling a little better already, more herself by not thinking of him. Harry smiled in what seemed like relief and let go of her arms.

"That's good, I was worried that you would hex me or something." Harry laughed casually and Ginny grinned at his laid back behaviour. "Where are you heading to?" He asked her, seeing her jacket in her hand.

She shrugged gently, smiling naturally now. Harry deserved a medal, she didn't think anyone would be able to put her in a good mood for a while after the foul mood she recently possessed. "Just for a walk, getting some fresh air, I guess." Ginny told him truthfully, still randomly smiling.

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Could I join you? It's kinda... stuffy in here." Ginny resisted the urge to laugh, Harry was never good with words. She nodded, grinning now. Harry was one of her best friends now, she had liked him for years but recently she had realised that with all the other pretty girls in this school, why should he pick her? She had given up and for good reason, especially now all the girls were interested in him because they thought he was the _Chosen one. _But a strange emotion overcame Ginny now, her stomach felt funny.

"Sure," Ginny answered a little too late, her thoughts had delayed her answer. He smiled in response as they both turned to walk out of the portrait hole. Her and Harry walked silently through the halls of Hogwarts, dozens of different things running through Ginny's mind. Did she like him? She wasn't sure. She had that strange feeling in her stomach but it was nothing compared to how she felt about – No, don't think the name. Sure, she knew this feeling, but Ginny knew that this was just a rebound, a harsh fall back. But she still liked Draco. Liked him more possibly now than before. How could that be after what he had said earlier?

Then she looked to Harry, wondering why she couldn't like him how she liked Draco. Harry was so much better for her, he was practically perfect. Things never went the way they should. But maybe, just maybe she liked him enough not to feel guilty about giving it a go. Sure, she liked Draco much more, but maybe, if she really tried, she could like Harry more than she liked him. That would be a much more healthy choice for her, after all, she knew Harry so well, he was already one of her best friends, what could be better? But then she found the fault in her plan; Harry didn't like her back.

The cold air hit her face and it was just as refreshing as she had imagined. She smiled a little as they walked across the grounds, heading towards the lake subconsciously.

Too soon they arrived at the lake, Ginny stopped in her tracks and leant against the big tree that was right near the bank of the lake. Harry joined her, leaning against it also.

"It's quiet, isn't it?" Harry broke the silence, looking over too her. She met his gaze and saw something new in his green eyes. A different emotion, one she didn't recognise. Ginny nodded, again, a little too late.

She looked him straight in the eye once more, trying to discover this new emotion. Harry turned a bit more towards her, this emotion in his eyes seeming to burn fresh. Ginny was so curious as to what this emotion was, it was almost bugging her, obviously she couldn't just ask.  
"Can I do something?" Harry asked, his voice so quiet but not quite a whisper. Ginny was frozen, wondering exactly what he was going to do, she nodded, still staring at him, trying to figure him out.

Then he did something, she never thought he would do. Harry leaned his head closer to hers before, ever so lightly, pressing his lips against hers. Ginny didn't know quite how to react, her body made the decision for her. She placed one hand on the side of his neck while he interlaced their fingers on her other hand. She felt him smile against her lips as he deepened the kiss. Her eyes closed automatically in response. Ginny had no objection, she was happy. Right here, right now, nothing could bother her.

And then she heard the footsteps from behind Harry, Ginny broke away from the kiss quickly, looking over his shoulder as to who would be there.

She seemed to freeze as she saw the face, her blonde angel standing there, his expression broken. Ginny couldn't move, she couldn't talk, she couldn't even find the strength to push Harry away. Draco stood there, seeming to have the same affect, he stood motionless, just staring at her. Guilt crashed down and erased every other emotion in her body. Only then did Harry look round and also see him standing there. He turned his whole torso towards Draco, dropping his hands from Ginny but still holding her hand. Harry looked between Ginny and Draco then looked at his watch.

"I gotta go do Potions homework, I promised Neville. Sorry." He said to her, loud enough for Draco to hear. He kissed her parted lips once before walking away. He just walked away! Casual as ever! It made her clench her fists.

Draco didn't take his eyes of her the whole time. "I see how it is." He murmured darkly, his voice ice cold, still silk smooth, it seemed to make it hurt more. She shook her head suddenly, stepping towards him.

"No, Draco. It's not like that," She defended quickly. Then she paused. Why was she defending herself? What was Draco to her? And Harry was perfect, and he liked her obviously. What was she doing? She tried to stand up straight, chin up, but the guilt just kept her down.

But why was she feeling guilty?

Draco just kept staring at her. "Save your breath, _Weasley_!" He spat, struggling to keep his perfect, calm façade. He seemed to be having a lot of trouble with it. Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip as she broke their gaze by looking down. Tears filled her eyes but Ginny refused to cry. She would not cry over Draco Malfoy again.

"Why are you even here?" She replied hotly, raising her eyebrows with more effort than it should have been. She tried not to blink in fear of the tears spilling over.

He was just silent, still staring with wide eyes at her. Ginny took a deep breath and waited for his answer. What more could she do? She couldn't walk away now. Walking away was definatly not an option.


	5. Stunned

**CHAPTER 5 – STUNNED**

Draco had been simply sitting on his bed for the last twenty minutes, trying to decide what to do about Ginny. Why did he care so much was the real question. What was it about her? Something about her just pulled him in. He couldn't resist her.

He was just remembering a conversation him and his father had before this year, it was a bit like a sex talk but less graphical. His father gave him some tips to understand woman, the main one he gave Draco was that ladies always mean the opposite of what they say.

He almost felt like smiling when he understood what he must do. He had to go to the lake, Ginny said don't bother but that's the whole point in this reverse psychology thing, right?

Draco ran a hand through his hair before walking over to the mirror and checking if he looked representable. He bit his lip, he had to admit it, he was nervous. Not of going to see her, of the fact that she was still annoyed with him for calling her brother a blood traitor. How was he going to fix this? Hopefully, she wasn't too hard to convince. She was quite the mystery to Draco, he could never quite figure out her intentions.

"Draco, where are you going?" Asked Pansy, her voice a little panicky as he pulled on his coat and walked toward the portrait hole. "Would you like me to come with you?" She asked, skipping up to him, sounding very hopeful.

"No thank you," He replied curtly, not looking at her reaction before walking quickly out the door. His walk was more agitated than normal, or was agitated not the word? Draco seemed much more tense than usual, he didn't understand why. Was it his nerves? Why was he so nervous to go and apologize to her? He was great at this sort of thing, Draco could easily admit to himself that he was a very convincing person, people usually did what he asked, it was a useful talent, though sometimes he did use it a little too much to his advantage. He continued pacing, heading towards the banks of the lake when he got outside.

He took a deep breath, looking to his shoes whilst he walked across the grass to the place where they were last night. _Stay calm, be charming and she will forgive you like that, _he kept repeating in his head though he was too nervous even to believe himself. He forced a nervous smile on his face, looking up to see Ginny.

He froze in his tracks, the smile dissapearing from his features. No matter how much he wanted too, he could not tear his gaze away from the couple. Harry Potter was all wrapped around Ginny, their lips locked, Draco's fury flared wildly as he wished he could walk over there and punch Potter right round the face. He tried to walk but it was like his feet were rooted to the ground, he was motionless, he knew he could move but his mind was telling him he would regret it.

Then Ginny caught his gaze and his anger seemed to increase incredibly, subconsciously, he clenched his fists. Then _he _looked over and Draco just felt like shouting at him. Harry started to look uncomfortable, as he fidgeted around and let go of Ginny, all but her hand. Draco's eyes couldn't leave her face.

Potter looked back to her. "I gotta go do Potions homework, I promised Neville. Sorry." Harry told her, before kissing her. Kissing her! It was like he was dangling her right in front of Draco's eyes! Draco kept his ice cold glare fixated on her, not being able to look away.

"I see how it is," He said loud enough for her to hear, breaking the silence between them. He could practically feel the tension in the air, but he didn't think about it, none of this was _his _fault. Then she was shaking her head, was she denying it?

Her face was a mask of pure innocence. "No, Draco. It's not like that," And now she was defending herself! Draco couldn't believe what he was hearing. His eyes still could not look away from her, he was so angry his hands were starting to shake though he hoped she didn't notice. He could move now but he didn't want to be any closer to her. His intentions of coming here were to apologize, seems the tables have turned.

"Save your breath, _Weasley_!" Draco lashed out, his eyes narrowing naturally in the heat of their argument. He didn't regret what he said to her and he probably wouldn't. His hands stopped shaking as he calmed down by a fraction, the anger wasn't completely faded out yet. She looked upset for a second but he ignored it, he didn't honestly care right now, she could just go ahead and be upset. He noticed, with a little shock and guilt, that water filled her eyes but were not yet spilling over. Draco kept his face clear in spite of the fact that inside, one of his most dominant emotions except for anger was guilt.

She seemed to be putting on a brave face as well. "Why are you even here?" She asked, Draco detected a hint of venom in her voice, it was almost laughable. Draco simply stared at her, he didn't have to answer to her.

"I don't owe you explanations." He replied hotly, calming down more, but not yet feeling guilty for his actions.

She raised her eyebrows in what seemed like sarcasm. "Oh, that's right. You don't owe any explanations to _blood traitors._" Ginny spat, turning around swiftly to walk away. Draco's anger flared once more, she would not walk away and let him be the bad guy. He paced over to her and took her arm.

Ginny turned around as he grabbed her arm, Draco didn't notice her pulling her wand out of her pocket. "_Stupefy!_" She said a little louder than conversational tone. Next thing he knew, Draco was flying backwards from the force of her spell. He suddenly smacked into something hard, his head got thrown back and slammed hard against the tree. The school started to swirl in his eyes.

* * * * *

"Oh, crap! Crap, crap, crap, crap! Draco? Are you okay?" Her panicky voice was all he could hear, his head was spinning from the hit. "Draco?! Can you hear me? Crap, crap, crap!"

He let out a groan, forcing his eyes open to see Ginny's worried face only inches away from his own. She let out a relieved sigh and placed her hand on her chest, closing her eyes. Draco was too dizzy to be angry yet, he pushed up on his elbows and sat up, his hand flying to his head in natural reaction to his pain.

"You, you stunned me!" Draco accused quietly when he was sure he would keep his voice straight.

Ginny bit her lip, she couldn't deny it, what would be her defence now?

"You.. You..." She tried to think of a reason but she seemed to come up blank. Draco raised his eyebrows, still accusing. She let out a defeated sigh. "Sorry." Ginny muttered quietly, Draco could tell she didn't like to apologize, to loose a fight.

Draco resisted the urge to roll his eyes, only now noticing the strange moisture at the back of his head. He frowned in confusion as he dropped his hand, only now seeing the blood smeared across his fingers. "What the hell did you do?!" He asked in astonishment, looking at her with wide eyes.

"You hit your head on a tree when I stunned you," She admitted, standing up and holding out a shaking hand. "Hospital wing?" Ginny murmured, Draco could notice the guilt traced obviously across her features.

He took her hand and pulled himself up with more effort than usually needed, he was starting to feel faint.

They were just about to walk away when Draco heard a gasp behind them.

"Miss Weasley! Mr Malfoy! What have you done?" He easily recognised the voice of Minerva McGonagall, he spun around to look at her, causing a new rush of nausea to overcome him. He fell to his knees, due to his loss of balance and saw Professor McGonagall rushing over to him.

"What happened to him?" She asked Ginny quickly, he could feel her moving his hair out of the way so she could see the damage Ginny had inflicted on him. He heard Ginny stutter, he tried to concentrate on sitting upright once again.

He saw her bite her lip before answering, clearly avoiding Professor's gaze. "We got into a fight.. And I... Stunned him." She admitted sheepishly, looking to her feet. Draco heard Professor McGonagall intake of breath.

"Miss Weasley! We do not use harmful spells on other students! I am ashamed in your behaviour, thirty points from Gryffindor and detention with me tomorrow evening." She scorned Ginny, shaking her head, having to regretfully take points from her own house. Draco stayed silent, trying not to think about the pulsing pain at the back of his head.

Professor McGonagall helped him up. "Let's get to the hospital wing, Mr Malfoy." She led him on, noticing Ginny following the two of them. "You can go back to your dormitory, Miss Weasley. I will see you in detention." Draco almost felt sorry for her, McGonagall's voice seemed unnecessarily harsh.

"Okay," She murmured in response, barely a whisper before walking towards the other end of the castle. Draco stared after her before turning his attention on walking without tripping.

As he stumbled across the grounds towards the hospital wing, he couldn't help but wonder what it would be like tomorrow, where would him and Ginny stand? Would she talk to him? Should he talk to her?

Another gasp as he entered the hospital wing. "Oh dear! What has happened to you, Mr Malfoy?" Madame Pompfrey asked, her voice a little higher than usual. She showed him to a bed, as he sat down, she started to check over the back of his head.

"Hmm, This should be taken care of easily. How did you do this, boy?" She asked, seeming a little impatient as she took her wand out her pocket. "This may sting a little." Draco felt the stitches being put into place and he winced a little before answering her.

"Someone stunned me," He answered simply, not feeling the need to tattle on Ginny, she had gotten what she deserved, no more punishment was needed.

McGonagall ruined that plan. "Ginny Weasley, Can you believe it?" She said, still sounding negatively astonished.

Madame Pompfrey tutted and shook her head, dabbing ointment on his sewed up wound, his head no longer hurt, he didn't feel dizzy either. "She used to be such a lovely girl, shame really." This annoyed Draco and for some strange reason, he wanted to defend her.

"I don't know, maybe something in the Department of Mysteries affected her last year." McGonagall contemplated, her face a mask of concentration. Draco couldn't help but speak up now.

He looked at the two of them with accusing eyes. "It wasn't her fault, It was mine. I was the one who started the argument." Draco said, dropping his gaze. Why was he defending her? Most of all, why did he feel bad about her being punished to the extent that she was?

They stayed silent for a moment. "You can go back to the Slytherin common room now, Mr Malfoy. Any concussion or nausea, please return as soon as possible." Madame Pompfrey said, Professor McGonagall nodded in agreement.

He stood up, avoiding their gaze, and strolled out of the hospital wing. He couldn't get Ginny out of his head. What would she be like tomorrow? Draco walked through the portrait hole, falling into a comfy armchair by the fire, ignoring the stares from curious first and second years. He put his head in his hands, closing his eyes. He would just have to wait and see what tomorrow held for him.


	6. Coincidence

**CHAPTER 6 – COINCIDENCE**

Ginny couldn't sleep, couldn't get the guilt of her chest. She sat on her bed in her pyjamas, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees. She let out a sigh, lying back down again. It was six in the morning, she had only had three hours sleep. She sat back up again, swinging her legs over the side of her bed, running a hand through her long, red hair.

She stood up and walked over to her wardrobe, picking out some simple jeans, a tank top and a thin lilac jumper to go over the top. She had three free periods this morning then Potions and Defence against the Dark Arts in the afternoon, then of course her detention with Professor McGonagall for - she stopped mid-thought, not wanting to remind herself of that again, she had just momentarily forgotten about the guilt she was feeling. Not allowing herself to think of it again, she contemplated walking around the grounds.

Ginny walked silently downstairs, not expecting anyone to be up this time in the morning. She frowned in surprise as she saw her brother sitting in a chair by the fireplace. She walked over to him, sitting on the chair next to his.

"What are you doing up this early?" She asked him, he jumped at the sound of her voice, until now he hadn't noticed anyone had joined him. He shrugged, a limited response; typical Ron.

She rolled her eyes and made her way to the hallways outside. Ginny stuffed her hands in her pockets, looking to the ground as she strolled around the school. Occasionally she saw people she would know but she didn't really acknowledge them, she just kept walking.

A frown graced her features as she saw another pair of feet coming closer to her, she looked up and saw the last face she wanted to see. Harry Potter was standing in front of her, smiling like a blind man who had just seen light for the first time; he was beaming. "Hey Ginny! I was looking for you last night but I couldn't find you, what time did you get in?" He asked, his voice full of kindness and enthusiasm. Ginny cursed under her breath, wishing she took another route.

Now she had to make a snap decision. Would she follow this path with Harry and forget all about the boy who intrigued her so in Slytherin? Or continue trying to find out the mystery of Draco Malfoy and hurt Harry? Of course, she didn't want to hurt him, but to lead him on would surely hurt him much more than letting him know the truth.

She bit her lip, still deliberating. Ginny shifted her feet uncomfortably. "Not sure, no one was up so probably quite late." She told him, he took a step closer to her, maybe hoping she didn't notice, trying to pass if off as something that occurs naturally during conversation.

He nodded, his smile faltering a little, shifting his eyes nervously. "I kinda wanted to talk to you about what happened yesterday," Harry started off, Ginny avoided his gaze. "Maybe we could walk?" He asked, Harry held his hand out to her, she looked at it and her eyes widened, her decision randomly picking an option.

"Actually, I really have to be somewhere." Naturally, she chickened out. Mentally kicking herself, Ginny rushed off, leaving Harry there, not even able to answer her. She walked as fast as her legs could carry her until she was in the prefects bathroom. Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip as the guilt sunk in. This was so unfair on Harry but Ginny knew in the back of her mind that she would accept his pain for him. She shook her head, as if shaking the thought away. Her selfishness was almost unbelievable, how could she even think that way? She felt sick to the core even contemplating her own selfishness. Ginny leant against the wall, resting her forehead against it. She closed her eyes, knowing she needed to think this through clearly. On one hand, Harry was truly a great person, though always unintentionally in the spotlight, he was an amazing person. Ginny knew she was capable of being happy with him, she knew she could be very happy with him. Then, on the other hand, there was him. Who ever thought she would be thinking this way about a Slytherin? What was in Draco Malfoy that was not in Harry Potter? Nothing came to mind, then why was she choosing Draco over Harry? She stood up straight, standing here was not going to help anything, she turned for the door, Ginny needed some air.

After a couple of minutes of strolling through the halls, the cool air hit her, refreshing against her skin. Ginny walked along the grassy banks, the smell of summer surrounding her. She knelt down under the nearest shade, leaning against a tree.

Her stomach jumped slightly, realising this was the exact place she had been with Draco last night. _Don't even consider getting up, just because you were here with _him, _that doesn't mean anything! _A voice in the back of her head told her, she nodded in agreement with herself. Just because they were here, doesn't mean this place had any significance.

"What a coincidence." A smooth voice murmured silkily from beside her, Ginny jumped a little before staring up into his grey eyes. Draco Malfoy stood towering over her, his face utterly emotionless, she scrambled to her feet, trying to keep hold of the little dignity she had.

She swallowed, Draco did not miss this, his eyes drifted down to her throat then back up to her eyes, just gazing into them, did he have no idea what effect he had over her? Her stomach seemed to whirl even looking at his face though she could not tear her eyes away. "Draco, I'm-" Her voice cracked as she looked down, wondering in the back of her mind how she had found the strength to do so. "I'll go," She whispered, turning around towards the direction of the castle.

Then he was standing directly in front of her, their faces inches apart. "Don't.. leave," It seemed he struggled to get out the words he wished to say. Ginny's breath stopped, he did not want her to go. He _wanted _her to stay,he wanted them to be _together. _She didn't think she could find the strength to move, or the strength to stop staring into his eyes; searching for answers within their depth.

Draco stepped back from her, finally breaking their gaze, he sat himself down gracefully. She followed his lead and placed herself beside him, not daring to sneak a glance in his direction, Ginny simply stared at the lake. The sun shined off the gentle rippling of the water, sending streaks of rainbow coloured gleams in every direction. Then Ginny could no longer resist, her eyes followed the beams of light to look directly at Draco, the bright light seeming to make him more beautiful.

Beautiful? That was surely never a word she thought she would to describe the Slytherin boy sitting beside her.

He looked back at her, it was intensifying, staring into his eyes, a strange emotion twisted in the pit of her stomach. She ignored the funny feeling and continued gazing, not sure if she was even _able _to look away. He broke their gaze once again, looking back out to the lake, he placed his hands on the grass behind him and lye back, he folded his arms at the back of his head. Once again, Ginny copied his actions, using just one arm to support her own head.

The bright sun was no problem to them, they were safe under the cool shade. Then Draco made a noise, a gentle sigh leaving his lips, his perfect lips.

"I don't know if I prefer to be here in the day or at night. For example, now the sun can shine off the water but at night you can see the reflection of the moon," Draco rambled on in his silk smooth voice. "What do you prefer?" He looked over to her as a dozen different emotions flashed in his eyes but before Ginny could properly understand them they were gone.

Only now did she remember she was staring at him, adoringly almost, in awe. Her mouth was open by a fraction, she shut it quickly and looked back up to the sky to avoid the embarrassment. "Uhm, Night?" She mumbled nervously, her words slurred together to form one.

A gentle breeze swept across them and Ginny shivered involuntarily, soon distracted by the sweet scent of him that was flowing her way.

Then Ginny caught his eye and he was staring at her like a blind man who had seen the sun for the first time. She couldn't help the blood rush to her cheeks as she looked down, sitting up just for something to do.

He copied her, his stare practically burning a hole write through her.

Her heart almost stopped beating when a soft hand covered her own. Ginny's breathing hitched, she turned to look at him and his expression portrayed he was concentrating on a very hard maths equation.

Then Ginny wished she could read his mind, what could he possibly be thinking? His face was a clear mask of confusion, conflict. About what? What was bothering him? Was it Ginny herself? Had she done something wrong. She wanted to look away but she couldn't find the strength. Ginny let out a breath she hadn't realised she had been holding in and continued to look into his mysterious eyes, trying to figure him out.

"I-" He started to say but his voice broke on the one syllable word as he continued looking at her, a strange look, intensifying. Draco couldn't finish his sentence, he moved, almost unnoticeable, closer to her as if he was doing it without thinking.

His eyes drifted to her hand as Draco interlaced their fingers, Ginny's stomach was performing uncontrollable somersaults. His eyes seemed to followed from her hand, up her arm, her jawline and finally to her eyes.

"I'm sorry," He said in a mere whisper, like a breath. Draco leaned closer to Ginny, his eyes closed.  
Then silently, he gently pressed his lips against hers.


	7. Whispers

**CHAPTER 7 - WHISPERS**

His lips were soft, gentle against her own. Her thoughts were going crazy in her head, a dozen different emotions passing through her mind. The kiss became more heated and she felt Draco place one of his hands lightly on the side of her neck. Draco deepened the kiss again, Ginny gave up fighting her better instinct and wrapped her arms around his neck. He ran his other hand through her long hair to rest it on her waist. Her lips and his moved together in synchronisation creating the perfect harmony. Ginny felt perfectly at ease, perfectly content.

Then she heard a small gasp from behind them. They jumped apart and Ginny heard Draco curse quietly as they both looked up into the shocked face of Pansy Parkinson.

"Sorry to disturb!" She told them in a high voice, smirking down at the pair. "Well Draco, this is-" Her eyes scanned over Ginny before continuing, "different." She clapped her hands together and rocked back and forth on her heels, obviously waiting for one of them to say something.

"Get out of here, Parkinson," Draco told her in a cold voice, getting to his feet smoothly, giving Pansy a dark look. Ginny blushed and stumbled up, not nearly as graceful as Draco had and looked to her feet, embarrassed obviously at being caught.

She giggled at the pair once more and nodded a little to enthusiastically. "Sure, See you at breakfast!" She sneered, before flicking her hair and skipping towards the castle.

They stood there in silence, Ginny bit down on her bottom lip. Draco broke the silence and let out a long breath, turning to look at her with sympathetic eyes.

"Sorry about her." He apologized, Draco quickly glanced at his watch then looked back to her. "I think we better get to breakfast." He told her, waiting for her response.

To be honest, she was a little disappointed. Ginny was rather enjoying their previous activities. "Okay," She murmured and Draco smirked at her expression before surprisingly enough, taking her wrist and pulling her to him, pressing his lips once again to hers. He pulled back after a couple of seconds, holding her hand and turning to walk towards the castle, Ginny followed, still reminiscing over the feel on his lips against hers. When they were about to enter the building, Draco dropped her hand though they still walked side by side. Neither of them said a word on the way and soon found themselves outside the big doors leading into the Great Hall.

It soon became apparent that the two were late. Everyone was already seated and as soon as they came through the doors, everyone's eyes turned to them.

After a couple of seconds of silence, the whole hall seemed to break into excited, enthusiastic whispering. Then one person stood up, Ginny ground her teeth when she saw Pansy Parkinson waving madly, a huge, evil grin on plastered on to her face.

"Parkinson." He growled, and something clicked in Ginny's mind. How was it that in a matter of minutes, she had got the whole school whispering about herself and Draco. Apparently, their kiss was no secret now.

She flushed pink and with one last glance at Draco, who looked extremely angry, she walked down the long isles, hating the feeling of everyone's eyes following her. Ginny cursed as she saw where the only empty seat left was on the Gryffindor table, next to her big brother Ron and her two good friends Harry and Hermione.

Her cheeks became hotter as she saw Ron stare at her, his mouth gaping as she placed herself on the seat next to him. Dumbledore then cleared his throat, Ginny looked up, grateful for the lack of stares she would have for these couple of minutes that Dumbledore would talk for.

"Enjoy," He said simply in his booming voice before clapping his hands. Dishes of food appeared in front of them out of no where and she heard the scattering of knives and forks as the students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry started to eat.

"Draco _bloody _Malfoy!" Ron scolded her as soon as conversations everywhere filled the hall with volume. "What the _hell _were you thinking?!" He asked her, his face red with what could only be anger. Ginny avoided his gaze and picked up a piece of toast just for something to do, she stared at the bread in her hands, playing with it nervously.

She let out a sigh, knowing she couldn't avoid the subject. "I didn't think that anyone would find out." Ginny defended herself quietly, looking down.

"Well, you thought wrong then didn't you! Out of all the guys in here you could go of snogging, you bloody pick Malfoy!"

Ginny stared at her brother, her patience slowly fading away. "Do we really have to talk about this now? Actually, I don't even have to talk to you about this at all! This is none of your business." She told him, turning back to her food, starting to nibble on the corner of her toast.

Ron nodded fast. "Yes, we do have to talk about this! Have you any idea how many girls he has-" But she cut him off, Ginny had had enough.

"Shut up, Ron! It's bad enough the whole school judging me, let alone you!" She shouted at him, standing up now, finding it hard to keep her emotions in check. "Thanks a lot," Ginny murmured quietly to him before turning around and walked out of the hall, trying not to let herself go in front of her fellow students.

As soon as she was out of the public's view, her eyes watered up. Ginny tried to blink as little as possible, not wanting to cry over something so small. She kept on staring at the ground, not blinking still in fear of her tears falling.

How long she walked around the grounds, she did not know, but she did know she was walking long enough for the students to flood out of the hall and to their first lessons. Ginny knew it was wrong but she just couldn't go to lesson in this emotional state. The whispers still echoed in her mind, she tried to shake them off.

Ginny stared out at the lake, the morning light shining of the rippling surface. She let out a sigh, remembering how simple everything was this time yesterday, when she had no one to hide from, nothing to be ashamed of. Ashamed wasn't the right word, she couldn't describe her emotion right now, couldn't quite place it.

"It does not do to dwell, Miss Weasley." A wispy voice came from behind her as she turned around to see her headmaster standing there, Albus Dumbledore. The only other time Ginny had ever had a one to one conversation with this man was just after she had left the Chamber of Secrets for questioning about Riddle's diary.

Ginny twiddled her thumbs nervously, silent. What was she supposed to say?

"Positives always outweigh the negatives, despite the fact of rumours," He pressed on, he must have heard what was going round himself, she let out a small defeated sigh.

She shrugged. "Well, what else am I supposed to do?" She asked, only now realising how dependent she would be on his answer, the wisest of all.

"That question, regrettably, I cannot answer."

_Figures. _

**Authors Note;**

**Apologies for the crapness of this chapter, **

**I kinda ran out of ideas. **

**Sorry!**

**:)**


	8. Truth

**CHAPTER 8 – TRUTH**

"Shouldn't you be out with Malfoy finishing off what you started this morning?" Her brother reminded her bitterly whilst they were sitting by the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room. Ginny rolled her eyes and looked at her brother with raised eyebrows.

"Do you _really _want to talk about _that?_" She asked, knowing that he didn't. Because if that's what it took to stop this conversation, she would tell him in full detail what had happened, that would be enough to shut him up.

Harry groaned, letting his head fall back to rest on the chair Hermione was sitting on. "Give it a break Ron," He said quietly, Ginny looked down, feeling greatly guilty. It was only two nights ago she had kissed Harry, she couldn't even begin to imagine how he was feeling. She bit down on her lip, only now did she realise how much she must have hurt Harry. But what was she to do? She couldn't deny she had feelings for Draco or that what had happened between them was an accident. What could she say to Harry? Ginny had no answers. Maybe she should just let their conversation go where it would, she had to talk to him, had to apologize.

"Uhm, Harry. Could I talk to you for a minute?" She asked him, standing up and indicating for him to also. He nodded silently and got up also. They walked out of the Common Room for a little privacy as Ginny leant against the wall outside of the portrait hole. Harry looked at her for a moment before talking.

"What did you want to talk about?" He asked in a dejected tone, Another wave of guilt overcame her, it's like she had broken her. Ginny thought that their kiss the other day was just a one time thing, but how could she possibly know what that moment meant to him? Were his feelings much more strong than she had ever guessed? How much had she really hurt him? Harry looked up at her and an awkward silence came between them as she stared into his green eyes. Ginny's thoughts were screaming at her. Why couldn't she be normal and like Harry like she liked Draco? He was obviously the much more healthy choice, why did she have to give up so easily on him after running after him for three years? Did she still have _any _feelings for him? Enough to ignore her feelings for the Slytherin she had so much adored lately and work and work on a relationship with Harry?

"I'm sorry." Ginny blurted out, unable to contain her apology any more.

Harry laughed a little, it sounded a little too forced. "Sorry for what?" He asked, avoiding her gaze now and finding sudden interest in his black converse. She swallowed the lump in her throat, trying to think of an explanation.

She said the first thing that came to her head. "For kissing him," Ginny whispered, looking up at him but he was still staring at the floor. What was he supposed to say to that? What answer was she expecting? Harry looked up to her suddenly, his eyes smouldering with a strong emotion she couldn't quite name.

"It's fine," Harry muttered, the emotion still burning in his eyes. "Our kiss didn't mean anything to you, I get it." He said and Ginny's eyes widened, is that what he thought? Was that really the impression she was giving off? She shook her head a little, wondering exactly what she would say to him, she didn't even know her answer yet. Did the kiss mean anything to her? Was any feeling in that intimate moment between her and Harry? _It wasn't meaningless_, she kept telling herself, _it meant something. _

"No, Harry!" She defended, still shaking her head, placing her hand on his forearm. "Don't say that! Of course it meant something," Ginny knew she did have truth in her words. "I don't know how you could think it didn't," She muttered quietly, looking him straight in the eye, trying desperately to feel something.

Harry laughed without humour. "Then what _did _it mean?" He asked lightly before staring back up at her.

"I.." She didn't know the answer. "I don't know." Ginny whispered, looking down now, feeling worse than ever for not even being able to provide him with an answer. Something was in Harry's eyes that again, she couldn't quite figure out. She stared at him, trying to see into this secret emotion that hid in his eyes.

Then, for the second time this week, Harry leant towards Ginny and kissed her, with more forceful passion than before. His lips were hungry against her own, desperate maybe. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she placed one hand on the side of his neck. Ginny knew they were in public solitude, but how could anything get worse than the rumours already spread about her and Malfoy?

_Draco._

Ginny used all the strength she could muster to push him away, his lips broke from hers and he looked at her, not frowning, just with that mystery emotion playing in his eyes.

"I can't do this." She whispered and she saw Harry take a step back, his hand shooting inside his jacket, pulling his wand out.

"Sure as hell you can't." Ginny's breathing hitched as she heard his voice, she turned around just to see Draco shoot a hex at Harry.

"Protego!" Harry defended, Malfoy's hex bouncing off his protective shield. Draco had the tip of the curse on his tongue when Ginny took hold of his wrist and stood between the two.

"What is wrong with you two? Do you know what McGonagall would do if she saw you fighting in the hallways?" She scorned, wondering idly in her mind why whenever she kissed someone, people always caught her. First when she kissed Harry, Draco had seen. Then she had kissed _Draco _and Pansy had seen. And now, _for the second time, _when she kissed Harry, Draco caught them again! What was the world coming to?

Harry seemed to ignore exactly what she had said as he pushed her a little to the left to shoot a spell at Draco. "Expelliarmus!" Draco's wand flew out of his hand into Harry's awaiting fist, his fingers curled around Malfoy's wand as he smirked at him, twiddling it around in his hands. Ginny unexpectedly turned on Harry, subconsciously, she must have decided to take Draco's side, she cringed a little at how easily she had made that decision.

"Give Draco back his wand, Harry." She told him calmly, trying to be nice and polite but Harry raised his eyebrows at her.

"Oh, so he's 'Draco' now?" He asked, handing over the wand regretfully_. _She took it, avoiding his gaze now, before handing it back to Draco without turning to look at him.

"What's happened to you?" Harry asked quietly, addressing her directly as if Malfoy wasn't there. He looked into her eyes for a couple of second before shaking his head. Ginny looked down, his words piercing her like a knife, the truth of them hurting more than anything else. She felt like she had been slapped around the face, had a thousand insults hurled at her, but the truth was, she was just seeing how much she had changed. What _had _happened to her? Why had she let Draco effect her this way? So much so that even the best of her friends didn't want to be around her any more. Had she changed for the worse? How much had she noticeably changed was the real question. What had Harry meant? But no, she couldn't ask him, in fear of hearing the truth. How could she even talk to him after this? When she had clearly chosen Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin, his enemy over him, Harry Potter, the 'Chosen One', the most heroic person she had ever met.

But she could not deny it, there was a mystery about Draco that intrigued her so which she could not just simply ignore.

"Ginny," Draco started to say but Ginny held up a hand in motion for him not to talk. He fell silent but stood closer to her, trying to see her face. "What were you thinking kissing Po-" She shook her head and looked up at him, a fierce expression now on her face.

"What was I thinking kissing you?" She asked, more to herself than anyone else. He looked outraged, insulted. She had to be alone. She bid him no farewell for Draco did not deserve it, she shoved past him, her shoulder brushing against his on her way.

"Ginny?" He called out to her, but she ignored him and continued walking.

What had she gotten herself into?

**Again, apologies for the crapness.**

**Sorry!**


End file.
